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ENGLISH 
IN THE GRADES 



BY 
THOS. C. BLAISDELL, Ph.D. 



<•%) 



NEW YORK-:. CINCINNATI. {.CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



STEPS 
IN ENGLISH 



These books meet modern conditions in teaching 
Elementary English as explained in this pamphlet. 

They teach the child how to express his thoughts 
in language rather than furnish an undue amount of 
grammar and rules. 

From the start, lessons in conversation are 
employed simultaneously with those in written 
language. 

Picture-study, study of literary selections and 
Setter-writing are presented at sufficient intervals. 

The books mark out the daily work for the 
teacher in a clearly defined manner by telling him 
what to do and when to do it. 

Many unique, mechanical devices, such as a 
I'cbor-saving method of correcting papers, and a 
graphic system of diagramming, are provided. 



American Book Company 



ENGLISH IN THE 
GRADES 

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 



THOS. C. BLAISDELL, Ph.D. 

Professor of English in the Fifth Avenue Normal High School 
Pittsburg, Pa. 




NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI .:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN .BOOK COMPANY 



UBRARYof aONGHtSS 


Vwo Oooies rta;«vtsu 


JUN 14 1905 


vouyneiii tiiuy 


COPY e. 



Copyright, 1905, by 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 



LI). .. . 



ENGLISH IN THE GRADES. 
W. P. 1 



FOREWORD 

The school world to-day generally agrees to 
the correctness of the following propositions 
concerning the teaching of language : 

1. The chief ends of language teaching are 
(dC) facility in the verbal expression of one's own 
thought andfeelijig; (b) accuracy ift the use of the 
spoken and written forms of one's native tongue. 

2. Power to speak and to write conies only 
through speaking and writing under proper 
guidance. 

3. Oral expression should precede written work. 

4. Language work should be based upon the 
child's experie7ice. 

5. The study of English grammar at the 
proper age and in the proper manner has great- 
value. 

The author believes that the proper applica- 
tion of the foregoing propositions will make the 
work of the teacher easier and better. He fur- 
ther believes that the following are the most: 
effective exercises to arouse the child's interest 
and to lead him to <?r<^/ and written expression: 

(a) Observation lessons, based upon things a 
child does, sees, and enjoys, (b) Picture studies ^ 
suggesting not only stories, but also acts and 
3 



4 FOREWORD 

incidents that appeal to children, (c) Stories 
and poems, so treated that children will not 
only appreciate them, but will also talk and 
write about them. (d) Letter writing, as a 
simple and natural form of written expression, 
(e) Dictation exercises. 

For the above exercises the school year may 
be best divided into periods of several weeks 
each. The pupil should be kept at one kind 
of work until he has attained som_e degree of 
skill and proficiency in it. 

In the third, fourth, and fifth years each 
week's work should consist of four lessons in 
construction and one in the mechanics of writ- 
ing or the simplest forms of grammar. 

In the sixth, seventh, and eighth years there 
may be three daily lessons in composition each 
week and two in grammar. 

This book has been written to present prac- 
tical methods for carrying into effect, in the 
daily work of the schoolroom, the propositions 
stated and the exercises suggested. 

The author wishes to acknowledge his in- 
debtedness to the writings of the late Dr. 
Emerson E. White for the statement of many 
of the principles involved. To Professor L. A. 
Sherman, of the University of Nebraska, he 
is also indebted for many suggestions concern- 
ing the application of these principles. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword . 3 

I. Observation Lessons 7 

Self. Outline. The Dog. Suggestions. 

II. Picture Studies 27 

III. Stories and Poems 39 

A Prayer. Robert Bruce. The Flag 
Goes By. 

IV. Letter Writing 58 

V. Composition Work in the Sixth, Sev- 
enth, AND Eighth Years . . .61 
Observation Work. Pictures. Literature. 

VI. Grammar in the Grades . - • - 7Z 
Diagrams. Parsing. The Correction of 
Written Work. 



I 

OBSERVATION LESSONS 

I. SELF 

First Lesson. — An interesting subject for 
every child is himself. By means of questions 
such answers as the following may be elicited 
from various members of almost any class : 
" My name is Minnie Jones." " I am eight 
years old." " I weigh sixty-eight pounds." 
"I am three feet seven inches tall." **The 
color of my hair is dark brown." "My eyes 
are blue." " My cheeks are rosy." "My 
father is a doctor." "I live in a brick house 
on Willard Street." " I walk a mile to school." 
" I like this school because there is a gym- 
nasium in it." "I like to play every kind of 
game." "Oh, I like to play 'Jacks,* 'House,' 
'Hide and Seek,' and 'Store.'" "We play 
'Store' this way: — " 

,7 



8 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

A skillful teacher will get answers to such 
questions from many pupils, thus giving every 
member of the class an opportunity to talk dur- 
ing a lesson of at least twenty minutes. (See 
Steps in English^ I, p. ii.) 

Second Lesson. — In a second lesson suitable 
questions will call forth such answers as the 
following : " I like to help mamma do things 
about the house." " 1 like to sweep, and 
dust the chairs." '' I like to help mamma 
make the beds, wash the dishes, and cook." 
" I like to sew and knit." " I like to read 
storybooks about birds, wild animals, Indians, 
and the people of other countries." " I like 
to take care of the horse." " My papa pays 
me for keeping the walk clean." " I like to 
mow the lawn." 

Each pupil may be asked in turn about the 
things he likes to do. It will be necessary 
sometimes for the teacher to draw out correct 
answers to her questions. Care must be used 
that pupils tell things clearly. The teacher 
should not criticise, but should continue until 
she gets a satisfactory reply to a question. It 



SELF 



9 



is often well to write an exceptionally satisfac- 
tory answer on the board, thus calling attention 
to the thought, the capital letters, the terminal 
punctuation, and the spelling. 

Third Lesson. — The third lesson may be de- 
voted to what the pupil does during vacation 
when he visits grandpa or Uncle John, or dur- 
ing Christmas week ; or it may deal with the 
pets, toys, and games that he plays ; or it may 
be devoted to written work covering special 
phases of the first two lessons, following the 
plan suggested on pp. 14-15. 

Fourth Lesson. — The fourth lesson should be 
written. The pupil may be asked to write a 
brief account of himself, may write of the 
games he likes, or of some particular vacation 
experience. In the lower grades written work 
should usually be done under the guidance of 
the teacher, as is suggested on pp. 14-15. 

Occasionally the written work may take the 
form of a brief note or letter. 



lO OBSERVATION LESSONS 



2. OUTLINE 

Upon entering school at the age of six the 
child is already using oral language to express 
his thoughts. So, too, he understands the 
thoughts of others, even when expressed in 
words that he has not yet learned to use. He 
has a somewhat clear notion and free use of 
perhaps five hundred words, and a growing 
sense of a thousand or more. He has also ideas 
to which these words relate. These ideas are 
more or less clear according to his home sur- 
roundings. But even though vague, they form 
abundant material for future language work. 

The main object of the school during the first 
year is to acquaint the children with the printed 
and written forms of words they already know 
and use, and to furnish them with a com- 
mon and minimum vocabulary upon which the 
succeeding years of school life may safely build. 

As children are taught to read, they add to 
their power over language. Accordingly, as 
opportunity offers, they may be permitted to 



OUTLINE II 

talk freely, not formally, about things that in- 
terest them, — their toys, games, and pets, as 
well as the many things they do and see at 
home, on the street, and in the school. 

In the second year this work should have a 
definite place, the children being given special 
opportunity to express their thoughts and feel- 
ings about things of interest in their lives. 

Third Year. — By the third year pupils are 
ready for more formal language work. Long 
before this, stories have been told them, and 
this new exercise may begin with a story, which 
should be brief and clear, but short. 

First Models. — It is to be a model, and the 
mark must not be set too high. Suppose the 
teacher intends to have the children tell what 
they saw on the way to school. She might 
first tell her own story, covering points like 
these : When she started. The weather. The 
poultry noticed about the house. The cat or 
the dog. The road. Sunshine or rain. Birds. 
Squirrels. Passing travelers. A stop beside 
the brook. Water clear or muddy. Trees in 
leaf or bare. Flowers or fruit. Grain fields 



12 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

or pasture. Joins children at door or on the 
road. 

The story should be orderly and true to 
nature. The teacher should not make it up, 
but should merely select the telling points of 
a walk and give them in simple, direct lan- 
guage without explanation or digressions. 

Having told her story, let her say : " Now, 
pupils, I wish each one of you to tell me about 
something you saw when coming to school this 
morning. Martha, you tell me about something 
you saw." 

Oral Work. — If the teacher's story has been 
well told, and if the children are made to 
feel that what they tell will be of interest, 
they will each talk freely, and a beginning 
will have been made in constructive work. 
The early efforts should not be criticised, but 
should be commended where possible. The 
first thing to be done is to get the children to 
say something. 

Corrections. — Gradually the attention of pupils 
may be called to the faults that are found in 
their everyday speech, such as slang or mis- 



OUTLINE 13 

used words, but they should not be discour- 
aged by fault-finding or by sarcasm. Their 
efforts should be praised, because it is by con- 
tinued effort that success is attained. This 
exercise should occupy not less than twenty 
minutes. 

The second lesson, and even a third or 
fourth, may follow similar lines. In every case 
the sample story given by the teacher should 
be her own experience and should be of a kind 
that every child may have. Our lives have 
much that is common to all, and these first 
oral lessons should be along lines that are 
easy for children. 

Things of Interest. — If the school is in the 
country, the children will have seen a bird's 
nest, a squirrel, a rabbit; and although they 
would, without aid, fail in the attempt to de- 
scribe any one of these, each can tell circum- 
stances and incidents connected with some 
particular nest, squirrel, or rabbit. If the 
school is in the city, the children's home life 
within doors is much the same, but their external 
experiences are very different. They see birds, 



14 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

trees, and flowers in the parks. They know 
streets, horses, and carriages of all varieties ; 
they see policemen and firemen. Their ideas of 
nature are more limited ; their ideas of man 
and his works are broader. Subjects should 
be selected that most of the children know 
something about. Something cannot come 
from nothing. Children as well as adults fail 
to talk when they have no clear ideas of the 
subject-matter to be treated. 

The Child Mind. — Again, even the Apostle 
Paul learned that when he was a child, he 
"thought as a child and spake as a child." 
The child of to-day does the same thing. He 
can neither think, talk, nor write the thoughts 
of an adult. The spoken and written thoughts 
of children in their first efforts, if genuine, 
will be childlike. These efforts should be 
judged, not by high literary standards, but 
simply as to whether they are the record of 
real thinking. If they are such, the first 
step in constructive work has been taken. 

Written Work. — Written exercises should 
seldom be assigned to primary and interme- 



OUTLINE 15 

diate pupils until two periods have been de- 
voted to oral work. During these two periods, 
however, the teacher should place on the board 
all new or difficult words, calling attention to 
their spelling, and to such answers and sug- 
gestions from pupils as she may select for com- 
mendation and for use as models. Attention 
should be called to the capital letters used and 
to the terminal punctuation. At convenient 
times these sentences, having been erased, may 
be dictated to the class. 

Aid to Pupils. — On the third day a half dozen 
of the best pupils may be sent to the board and 
the rest may write at their desks. The teacher 
may ask questions already used in oral work, 
and have each pupil write a complete answer. 
No attempt should be made to have the answers 
uniform ; in fact, pupils should be encouraged 
to write wholly original answers. While they 
are writing, the teacher is moving about the 
room encouraging backward pupils, calling 
attention to misspelled words, to omitted capi- 
tals, to wrong terminal punctuation, and to 
sentences that are too long. Later, pupils may 



l6 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

be asked to write several sentences, then a brief 
description, then an account of a suggested 
experience. A careful examination should be 
made of work written on the board, using it as 
a basis for lessons in accuracy of statement 
and of form. The written work may often 
take the form of letters or of brief notes. 

Care should be taken not to discourage pupils 
by too free or too severe criticism ; it is better 
to praise the good than to condemn the bad. 
Errors should be pointed out in the manner 
suggested on pp. 92-94, and pupils should be 
compelled to make their own corrections. The 
teacher should never correct tJie eiTors^ as to do 
so deprives the child of the practice and drill 
that will teach him to avoid his individual 
mistakes. 

3. THE DOG 

As the dog is one of the most common of 
household pets and as almost every child likes 
dogs, no better subject can be used to show the 
methods of dealing, in observation work, with 



THE DOG 17 

pets, with domestic animals, and with the com- 
mon wild animals familiar to children. 

Four lessons of twenty minutes each may 
profitably be devoted to the study of the dog, his 
form, his habits, his intelligence, his obedience. 

Kinds of Dogs. — The first lesson may begin by 
the teacher's saying : " Children, we are going 
to talk to-day about the dog. Now, there are 
dogs of many kinds. Who will tell me the 
names of some.-*" 

A number of hands are at once raised. James 
says, " I know two kinds, the rat terrier and 
the bulldog." " Who knows another kind ? " 
Elizabeth knows two other kinds, fox terrier 
and greyhound. A dozen hands are now up to 
tell the different kinds each one knows. John 
knows the Spitz and water spaniel. Sarah 
knows the Newfoundland and mastiff. Wil- 
liam knows the foxhound and the shepherd. 
Harry knows the poodle, the setter, and the 
Saint Bernard. Other pupils will likely know 
still different kinds and will be glad to name 
them if given an opportunity. 

Pupils may now be asked to give a general 

ENG. GRADES — 2 



l8 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

description of dogs of several kinds, after which 
the teacher may ask, ''William, which kind of 
dog do you like best ? " ** I like the fox terrier 
best." After the teacher has found from several 
of the class the kind of dog each likes best, she 
may then ask, " Has any one in the class a 
dog ? " Several will raise the hand. 

The teacher then asks, "Joseph, what kind 
of dog have you .'' " " I have a fox terrier." 
" Why do you like your dog } " *' I like him 
because he likes me." "How do you know he 
likes you ? " " Because when I go home from 
school, he makes such a fuss about me." 
" What does he do .'' " " Oh, he jumps up on 
my lap. I talk to him and ask him if he has 
been a good dog while I was at school, and he 
turns his head toward my face and looks right 
at me and sticks out his tongue and tries to lick 
my face. Then I ask him if mamma scolded 
him while I was away, and he turns his head 
round again and tries to lick my face ; nearly 
every time I speak kindly to him he tries to 
lick my face." 

Name. — " What do you call your dog ? " " I 



THE DOG 19 

call him 'Jack,* and he knows his name, too, 
because when it is bedtime, I say, * Now, Jack, 
it is time to go to bed ; come on ; all good dogs 
should be in bed.' If Jack is lying on the 
carpet before the fire, he will get right up and 
go with me to his bed." ** Where is his bed ? " 
''It's in the laundry." "What kind of bed 
have you for him .? " "I have a nice box near 
the furnace with a carpet in it, and when Jack 
gets into the box, I have a piece of old quilt 
that I put over him and tuck it in around his 
back so that the cold can't get in. Then he 
sleeps till morning, but as soon as he hears me 
in the morning he jumps out of bed and begins 
to bark and coax to get upstairs from the 
laundry." 

Habits. — ** Does he ever go with you to 
school ? " " No, but when I go out on the road, 
he jumps up on the lounge in the Hbrary and 
puts his fore feet on the window sill and looks 
out of the window to see where I am. If he 
sees me, he barks and howls, and jumps down 
from the lounge, and runs and jumps against 
the door to push it open, and if he can't get 



20 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

out, he makes a great noise till mamma has to 
open the door ; then he runs to me and jumps 
up on me and is very glad that he got out." 

Familiar Facts. — Probably no one pupil will 
talk to this length about his dog ; in fact, it will 
usually be wiser to get various facts from a 
number of different pupils. Often too it will 
be necessary for the teacher to encourage pupils 
by questions. They do not realize that facts 
familiar to them will be of interest to others. 

Each pupil in the class may now be asked to 
tell about his own dog or about a dog of which 
he knows, using the remainder of the time given 
to the recitation. It should not be difficult for 
a teacher of ordinary skill and ability to hold 
the interest of the class in this or a similar man- 
ner for twenty minutes. (See Steps in English , 
I, p. i8.) 

Description. — For the second lesson the 
teacher may ask each of the pupils, so far as 
time will permit, something about his own 
particular dog that has not been told. " John, 
what kind of dog have you.? " " I have a water 
spaniel." " What kind of coat has he t " " He 



THE DOG 21 

has a thick coat of long, black hair." *' What 
kind of ears and tail has he ? " " He has a 
long, bushy tail and long, hanging ears." 
" What kind of play does he like } " " He likes 
to run after sticks when I throw them into the 
water. He will jump in and swim after them 
and bring them back to me. I would not do 
with my dog what I see some boys do with 
their dogs." " What do you mean ? " " They 
throw stones into a pond or a stream, and when 
the dog swims out to where he thinks the stone 
is, there is no stone there ; then he swims all 
around hunting it When he can't find it and 
gets tired and out of breath, he gives it up and 
comes back to the shore. The boys think it 
is great fun to make a dog do that." 

With the average teacher this will be quite 
enough for one lesson, if she encourages each 
of the pupils to tell what he knows, either about 
his own dog or about a dog he has seen or 
of which he has heard. 

In the third lesson pupils may be encouraged 
by questions to tell further facts about a dog, 
thus: 



22 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

" How tall is he ? " " He is about a foot and 
a half high/' " How much do you think he 
weighs ? " " I think he weighs about forty 
pounds." "How can you tell when he is 
pleased ? " " I know he is pleased by the way 
he wags his tail, and plays, and jumps, and 
barks. Sometimes when I scratch his back, he 
makes beUeve that he is cross and growls, and 
takes hold of my hand with his mouth, but he 
doesn't bite at all; he hasn't any notion of 
biting." 

Traits. — = In this lesson also bring out through 
questions anything relating to the courage, 
watchfulness, and gentleness of the dog; the 
kind of food he likes best, and other facts of 
interest about him. 

The fourth lesson may be written work along 
the lines previously indicated, often in the form 
of notes or letters. 



4. SUGGESTIONS 

The family furnishes a topic that is well known. 
Several exercises may be devoted to the home. 



SUGGESTIONS 23 

The children may talk or write about the home 
food, and its sources, as known to them. The 
bread may begin at the baker's shop, or pro- 
ceed from the flour which came from the store, 
or from the mill, or from the wheat fields, ac- 
cording to the knowledge or the location of the 
class. The uses of water, as well as its sources, 
may be considered. Then tea, coffee, or other 
drinks may be taken up. 

The House. — The house itself will furnish 
material for a number of interesting language 
exercises. Is it of stone, brick, or wood ? What 
is the lowest part called ? How many rooms 
are there ? What use is made of each ? How 
is the house covered .'' How many chimneys 
are there .'* Porches ? Where does it stand, — 
on a hill or in a valley ; near the road or street, 
or far away ^ What trees are near it ? Are 
there any shrubs, vines, or flowers ? 

If a house is being erected near the school, 
it will furnish a topic of great interest to 
children, and one from which many interesting 
lessons may be drawn. The children will be 
especially interested in various phases of the 



24 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

work. How was the cellar made? What did 
the stone masons do? What tools did they use? 
What did the carpenters do? The plasterers? 
The brick layers ? The plumbers ? The painters ? 
What tools did each use ? 

The various kinds of fuel and their uses will 
be found of interest and of value in the language 
work. The children will talk or write freely of 
wood, coal, or gas, as the case may be. They 
will tell how it is used in cooking, washing, or 
ironing; how it is used to heat the house; 
whether furnace, steam, grate, or stove is used, 
giving the details. 

Animals. — Any animal with which a child is 
familiar will furnish an ideal subject for ob- 
servation work. The lesson will begin with 
immediate interest on the part of either indi- 
vidual pupils or the entire class, particularly 
if the animal happens to be a pet. There will 
be a number of things which the child wishes 
to tell or write. A little skillful direction or a 
few well-selected questions will set the children 
to seeking other information easily within their 
reach, and lay the foundations for careful, sys- 



SUGGESTIONS 25 

tematic habits of observation and investigation. 
Thus, if the horse is the subject, a pupil may be 
asked to tell the difference between a horse's 
foot and a cow's. Should no one be able to do 
this satisfactorily, the class may be instructed to 
investigate the matter and! report the following 
day. Or the teacher may announce that she 
will ask the class to tell at the next lesson just 
how a horse's shoes are fastened, and direct the 
class as a whole, or some particular pupils, to 
investigate and report. An animal, a bird, or 
a fish, whichever may appeal most strongly 
to the interest of a particular class or pupil, 
will furnish abundant material for language ex- 
ercises. (See Steps in English, I, The Dog, 
p. 18; The Duck, p. 90; The Horse, pp. 20 
and loi ; The Rabbit, p. 84, etc.) 

Fruits and Grains. — The fruits or grains will 
also be found to furnish timely and valuable 
material for observation lessons. Children in 
the country have seen corn growing. They 
can tell how it is planted, and when ; describe 
its cultivation ; give the shape of the leaves, the 
height of the plant, where the ears grow, how 



26 OBSERVATION LESSONS 

they are covered, the tassels, the silk. They 
know and will gladly tell or write about where 
corn is stored, what is done with it, what ani- 
mals eat it. City children will probably not 
have this information, but they can tell some- 
thing of the uses of corn, its appearance as they 
know it, or describe pop corn. (See Steps in 
English, I, p. 1 58.) 

Wheat may be taken in a similar manner. 
The teacher can readily adapt her questions to 
the knowledge or environment of the pupils. 
She may ask how wheat is sown, what it looks 
Hke when it comes up, what change of color 
takes place when it ripens, where the grain is 
formed, what covers the grain from sight, how 
wheat is harvested, and how the straw is sepa- 
rated from the chaff. Or she may ask for the 
various uses of wheat. So the apple may be 
taken, or the orange, always selecting, if pos- 
sible, some object which may be brought to 
school and placed before the class for careful 
examination. 



II 

PICTURE STUDIES 

Kind of Picture. — One of the best devices 
for inducing a child to speak and to write is 
picture study. Success in this requires a pic- 
ture which portrays something associated with 
the child's own life, and which suggests a story 
of interest to a child. 

Object. — Such a picture, placed before any 
class and properly handled, will set each child 
to thinking, to talking, to writing. When the 
child is once thinking, talking, or writing freely, 
the task of training him to think, talk, or write 
correctly is well begun. When he is thoroughly 
interested, when he has something which he 
ivishes to say, it becomes a privilege rather 
than a hardship for him to say it; for expres- 
sion is not only the natural outcome of im- 
27 



28 PICTURE STUDIES 

pression, but it is one of the most alluring and 
fascinating forms of mental activity. 

Example. — Let us take as an example the 
picture "His First Ride," — a lad holding a 
goat by the horns, while a mother steadies a 
small child seated on its back. (See Steps in 
English^ I, p. 30.) It should be placed where 
it may be carefully examined by every member 
of the class. Each pupil may be permitted to 
study the picture for a few moments in order 
to discover its meaning as far as possible for 
himself. Then one pupil may state to the class 
something that he sees in the picture. Another 
pupil may follow, either with something dis- 
covered independently or with something sug- 
gested by what the first pupil has said. 

Original Ideas Best. — The child's own dis- 
coveries are best, and if not hampered too much 
by directions or abashed by criticism, he will 
soon learn to speak what is in his mind with 
perfect freedom. During early work a few min- 
utes' talk will probably exhaust the first im- 
pressions of the class. Then the teacher, who 
of course has mastered the picture by careful 



PICTURE STUDIES 29 

Study, should suggest other points by asking 
appropriate questions. The children should be 
enabled to discover each feature by means of 
guiding questions. 

Questions. — Thus, if the pupils have not al- 
ready brought out the point, one may be asked 
to tell what the woman is doing. It will add 
interest and develop power for the teacher to 
follow simple questions of fact with those asking 
for reasons. Thus a pupil may be asked why 
the woman is holding the child and what she 
is probably saying. 

Real Purpose. — It must be constantly re- 
membered by the teacher that the real purpose 
of the drill is to secure freedom of expression. 
The facts that may be brought out are mere 
material. The aim should be to get each child 
to the point where he has something which he is 
eager to say. Let him say it in his own natural 
way. Later lead him gradually and tactfully to 
correct expression. The important thing is to 
maintain interest^ the latent interest that is 
present with every pupil who has an appealing 
picture before him. 



30 PICTURE STUDIES 

Interest. — If this interest is preserved, culti- 
vated, and directed, free expression will inevi- 
tably follow, and from free expression to correct 
expression is but a step. The kindergarten 
method of making a correction by the sug- 
gestion, " We say it this way," is very effec- 
tive. 

Children will be especially interested in ques- 
tions that set them hunting for an answer. 
Thus the questions, "Who probably owns the 
goat ? " or " How does he like being used as a 
horse ? " or " How does he show this ? " will 
give the pupil something to think about. With 
the discovery of the answer will come a thrill of 
pleasure. That the answers of different pupils 
may be entirely different, or may be incorrect, 
regarded as mere fact, is of minor importance. 
They have served their purpose as an exercise 
in expression. 

Children are always deHghted to discover 
more in a picture, a story, or a poem than they 
at first saw. Thus the question " What is the 
feehng of the child ? " followed by the question 
" How does he show this .'' " will develop addi- 



PICTURE STUDIES 3 1 

tional ideas, some of which will fairly cry out 
for expression. 

Help to Teacher. — A teacher who has not 
tried the experiment can scarcely realize the 
keenness of interest that may be developed in 
a class by the study of a good picture, nor 
can she realize to what degree such interest will 
lighten her work. The experiment is so easy, 
however, that any one may try it. The inter- 
est reconciles children to the less attractive 
features of language work. 

After the simpler features of a picture have 
been brought out by the pupil's own effort or 
by the teacher's questions, it is well to lead up 
to more difficult features that have as yet es- 
caped attention. Thus the question, "What 
kind of floor has this room } " prepares for 
the next question, "Is this a wealthy family?" 
and probably suggests to the children other 
replies to the query, "What makes you think 
so ? " 

Order of Work. — It is always well to begin a 
picture study with the simplest and most obvi- 
ous points, gradually leading up to the more dif- 



32 PICTURE STUDIES 

ficult ones. It is also wise to let questions about 
things that may be actually seen in the picture 
precede questions about things that may be 
inferred. The teacher must guard against the 
pupil's inclination to tell stories suggested by 
a picture, before he has mastered the actual 
details. 

Oral Work. — In graded schools about twenty 
minutes may be given to each day's lesson. 
In ungraded schools the teacher must be guided 
by the size and number of classes. The amount 
of time given to each pupil will depend, of 
course, upon the size of the class, and must 
be left to the teacher's judgment. It will be 
found advantageous to treat each phase of a 
subject orally before requiring pupils to write. 
Oral expression is easier and more natural, the 
difficulties of spelling, punctuation, and capital- 
ization being absent. 

Models. — The oral questions should be so 
distributed as to give each pupil an opportunity 
for expression and to bring out the different 
ideas of each. The answers of one pupil will 
suggest new and different thoughts to others. 



PICTURE STUDIES 33 

From time to time the teacher should call atten- 
tion to answers and suggestions that are reason- 
ably satisfactory, and should use them as models 
to encourage pupils who are less successful in 
expression, often writing the models on the 
board. Pupils will be found ready to accept 
hints and suggestions. The fact that one of 
their own number has done the thing required 
will encourage the others. 

By following such a plan the teacher will 
soon find that the language exercise has ceased 
to be drudgery, and has become a delight, as 
the pupils will have more that they are eager 
to say than the time given will permit. This 
is not mere theorizing, but is the general experi- 
ence of teachers who have used picture studies 
properly. 

Week's Work. — After the studies suggested 
above, the children will have a fund of informa- 
tion about the picture. A second day's work 
may be the oral statement, by various mem- 
bers of the class, of different features previously 
brought out; as "This mother is giving her 
baby a ride on the goat's back." Then several 

ENG. GRADES — 3 



34 PICTURE STUDIES 

statements or sentences about the picture may 
be secured from each pupil. On the third day, 
if it has not been done before, a brief, complete 
oral description of the picture may be required 
of several pupils. Or, if preferred, the pupils 
may tell of some experience of their own sug- 
gested by the picture, gradually working toward 
a complete story, given orally first, and then 
in written form. These should, of course, be 
brief and simple at first, the teacher helping 
slow and backward pupils by questions suited 
to their needs. She should also call attention 
to the many things in the child's experience 
which are suggested by the picture and of 
which he can talk or write. Children are at 
first as slow to see that their own lives furnish 
material about which to talk and write as they 
are afterward eager to tell of their experiences. 
The fourth day the pupils may be permitted 
to tell or to write little imaginary incidents sug- 
gested by the picture, as how they think the 
goat was obtained or what use is made of it. 
Or each child may tell or write of a ride he 
once had on a horse or a bicycle, or in a wagon, 



PICTURE STUDIES 35 

a sleigh, or a boat ; or he may tell something 
about a goat or a baby, or something his mother 
has done for him, or give a brief description of 
a room in his own home. Such written work 
may often be cast in the form of a letter to a 
friend. 

The alert teacher will, of course, follow the 
lines of greatest interest either for the class or 
the individual pupil. One feature in a picture 
may interest a city class or a particular pupil, 
while a different feature will appeal to a coun- 
try class or another pupil. 

Written Work. — Great care must be taken 
to prevent pupils from becoming self-conscious 
over their written work. They should be in- 
troduced to its difficulties gradually and in such 
a way as will not cause them to lose interest. 
The plan suggested on pp. 14-15 will be found 
helpful. 

Experience has shown that four days' exer- 
cises, or the language work of one week, may 
be given profitably to one picture study, and 
to the suggestions growing out of it. Not less 
than two of these should be oral. The oral 



36 PICTURE STUDIES 

work should always precede the written exer- 
cises and should largely predominate in the 
earlier classes, gradually giving place to written 
exercises. 

Text-book. — If for any reason a text-book 
giving selected and graded picture studies is 
not available for the use of each pupil, the 
teacher may secure one for her own use,^ or 
she may select her own pictures. 

The value of a picture as a language study, 
however, is in proportion to the amount of 
interest it arouses in the children. If it creates 
in their minds a desire to tell somethings it is 
a good picture for language purposes ; otherwise 
it is not. 

Advanced Work. — As pupils advance in age 
and in ability they may be led to talk and to 
write of the deeper suggestions of life and 
character which pictures contain. For example, 
in the picture "The Doctor" {Steps in Eng- 
lish, I, p. 200) the question, " Who is the man 
sitting by the table } " will give the key to the 
study. If deftly questioned, the pupils will 

1 Steps in English, American Book Company. 



PICTURE STUDIES 37 

tell in turn why the doctor is there, and why 
they think so ; what he is thinking about ; how 
long they think the child has been ill ; why the 
doctor is looking so intently ; whether they 
think there is any hope for the child's recov- 
ery. Then their attention may be called by 
means of questions, if necessary, to the man 
who is standing. When they have told who 
he is, where his hand is resting, who the woman 
is, what she is doing, why, and how many chil- 
dren there are in the family, they will have 
had abundant and pleasant exercise in expres- 
sion, and incidentally will have arrived at some- 
thing of a realization of the story and feeling 
of the picture. 

Outline. — ■ The special work for each day for 
these advanced classes may follow the plan al- 
ready outlined, or a different one. The pupils 
will gradually become more expert in the 
method of studying pictures. Each new pic- 
ture will bring in the interest of a fresh sub- 
ject, and will draw upon an entirely different 
set of the child's experiences. They may, in 
the above case, talk or write of some illness of 



38 PICTURE STUDIES 

their own or of a member of their family. It 
will, of course, be wise to guide the class to the 
expression of the more cheerful and sympa- 
thetic sides of this and other subjects rather 
than to the opposite. A child may speak of a 
playmate who came to see him when he was 
ill and who brought a flower or an orange. Or 
he may speak of some service done for him, or 
by him, preferably the former. Or he may tell 
of going for the doctor, of playing doctor, or 
of riding in the doctor's buggy, or of what he 
saw in the doctor's office. Every child has some- 
thing of this kind stored away in his memory. 
He will not, of course, express it fully at first, 
but will perceptibly improve by following the 
hints from the teacher and from members of 
the class. 

Value. — Picture studies of this sort not only 
serve as one of the greatest aids that a teacher 
can have in the task of securing complete ex- 
pression, but they also lay the foundation for a 
genuine appreciation of art and of pictures, 
which may prove of inestimable value in later 
life. 



Ill 

STORIES AND POEMS 

The love of stories is inborn. Stories enter 
into our lives, molding character, stimulating 
patriotism, consoling grief, moderating resent- 
ment. The Prodigal Son, Bunyan's Pilgrim^ 
Defoe's Crusoe, and Doctor Hale's Man 
without a Country are realities potent in their 
influence. 

Power of Stories. — Stories stimulate the 
imagination ; they set us to thinking and in- 
cite us to conversation. Hence they are of the 
greatest value in the teaching of language, fur- 
nishing abundant and delightful material for 
oral and written constructive work. 

Nor are these facts any less true of poems. 

Scots, wha hae zvi' Wallace bled thrills the 

heart of every Scotchman and of every patriot ; 

The Marseillaise sets a-tingling the blood of 

39 



40 .STORIES AND POEMS 

both Frenchman and friendly foreigner ; y^//;^ 
Brown s Body or Dixie carried many a worn 
soldier over long and weary miles ; The Battle 
Hymn of the Republic to-day quickens the pulse 
and brightens the eye of every American. 

Order of Work. — When a story or poem is 
presented to a class as the basis of a language 
exercise, it is well to let the pupils read it first 
by themselves, without comment or question by 
the teacher. It is but fair to the author to let him 
have the first opportunity to interest the pupil. 

As the next step, the teacher may listen to 
the reading of the story or poem by two or 
three members of the class. She will thus 
learn whether the pupil has a general apprecia- 
tion of it. Even if the story or poem is read 
with reasonable expression, the probabilities are 
that most of the class have failed to grasp im- 
portant parts of it. The teacher herself must 
not depend upon the inspiration of the moment 
to teach even poems or stories with which she 
feels quite familiar. A recent knowledge of the 
thing taught always adds a vital spark that 
otherwise will be absent. 



STORIES AND POEMS 41 

Besides the steps already mentioned, the gen- 
eral outline of a literature study of this kind will 
include, first, well-directed questions intended to 
make the pupils understand the author's fullest 
meaning, and second, other questions aiming 
to make the child remember and tell of ex- 
periences suggested by the literature being 
studied. 

Suggestions. — These latter questions will 
probably call for more thought than will the 
ones designed to disclose the meaning of the 
story or poem. Children are inclined, particu- 
larly in school, to be diffident about talking of 
acts and incidents that they have had part in or 
have seen, fearing that they will be laughed at. 
But a little thought on the part of the teacher 
will discover, in every piece of child's literature, 
a host of suggestions that will bring forward 
experiences about which the children will talk 
or write with delight, if they are only suitably 
encouraged. And this talking and writing that 
comes as a result of studying the poem are 
really more valuable than the study itself. For 
language lessons are intended primarily to give 



42 STORIES AND POEMS 

pupils power to talk and write of their own 
experiences. 

Outline. — As a concrete illustration of the 
method suggested a brief poem will be consid- 
ered. Four exercises of not less than twenty 
minutes each will be outHned, the fifth lesson of 
the week being devoted to something along the 
mechanical side of language training. (See 
Steps in English, I, Lesson V of each week.) 

I. A PRAYER 

Father, we thank Thee for the night 
And for the pleasant morning Hght, 
For rest and food, and loving care, 
And all that makes the world so fair. 
Help us to do the thing we should, 
To be to others kind and good. 
In all we do, in all we say. 
To grow more loving every day. 

(See Steps in English, I, p. 57.) 

Why give Thanks? — After the pupils have 
been given an opportunity to read this poem, 
first to themselves and then aloud, the teacher 
may, by the use of questions, endeavor to de- 



A PRAYER 43 

velop the idea of thankfulness or gratitude. 
The basis of this must be in the child's life, — 
his own feeling of thankfulness to parents and 
friends for favors received. Questions such 
as the following will be helpful in developing 
this idea: 

What do you do when mamma gives you a 
suit of new clothes .-' (A new dress .'' A new 
hat or cap I A pair of new shoes ? ) What do 
you say to her ? What do you do when your 
papa brings home for you a fine new knife ? (A 
new sled ? A pair of new skates } A fine dog ? 
A white rabbit .'') What do you say to him ? 
Why do you say this ? What do you do when 
your papa and mamma tell you that they are 
going to take you to an exhibition in the city, 
or to grandma's ? What do you say to them ? 
What do we call the feeling that makes our 
hearts so light and causes us to be so happy 
when any of these things are done.-* 

The children should be encouraged to tell of 
other definite experiences they have had for 
which they have been grateful. Various things 
done for them by relatives and friends when 



44 STORIES AND POEiMS 

they were ill, when they were away from home, 
when they were disappointed, may be called 
forth, such as a ride in a carriage, an invitation 
to a friend's home, an opportunity to see the 
circus or the pantomime, a bunch of flowers, etc. 
If desirable, they may be made to see that there 
are many things for which they should be thank- 
ful, but of which they have never thought, — 
home, school, food, clothing, although this may 
be delayed till a later lesson. 

The Poem Proper. — This idea of thankfulness 
having been fully developed, the second lesson 
may take up the poem proper. The idea of thank- 
fulness to people naturally leads to that of thank- 
fulness to God. Ask who is meant by the word 
" Father.'' For what do we thank him in the 
first line of the poem ? Why should we thank 
him for the night .'^ What does it bring to us 
that we need much more than we need skates 
or trips to the city } Have we ever thought 
how needful the night is ? What would it mean 
to live in a place where we had to sleep by day ? 
(Here brief reference to the long summer day- 
light of northern lands may be introduced.) 



A PRAYER 45 

How should we show our thankfulness to God 
for the night ? (By thanking him in words or 
by acts.) When should we do this ? 

Rest. — What other things are mentioned for 
which we are thankful ? Why is the morning 
light called " pleasant ' ? Is it welcome ? Why ? 
Why should we thank God for rest ? Why 
should we be thankful for food? Why is it 
not enough to be thankful to our parents for 
food ? 

Who gives us loving care ? Are we thankful 
to mamma and papa for this care ? Why should 
we be thankful to our Father in heaven ? Does 
he ever care for us when our parents cannot ? In 
storms ? In crowds ? Tell of some of the most 
beautiful things in nature. Who gives them to 
us ? (Bring out the beauty of spring, of autumn, 
of the rainbow, of sunrise and sunset, of land- 
scapes, of the seashore, of the mountains, of the 
flower-covered prairie, etc., by means of ques- 
tions, which should always relate to things 
within the child's experience.) 

What to Do. — A third lesson may begin with 
the fifth line of the poem : What are the things 



46 STORIES AND POEMS 

we should do ? What at home ? At play ? At 
school? At church ? How can we be kind to 
our playmates ? How to our younger brothers 
and sisters ? How to our parents ? How to 
the teacher ? How to the neighbors ? How 
to grandma ? What is it to be loving ? (Bring 
out the idea that love can be manifested only 
by what we say or do.) What are some of the 
loving things that we can say ? Tell of some of 
the loving things that you have heard said within 
a day or two. (Show that in the most loving 
things said the word *' love " probably will not 
occur.) What is it to grow more loving .'' Can 
we do this every day ? 

Memory Work. — A fourth lesson may include 
the writing of the stanza from memory (it may 
" have been written earlier from dictation) ; or 
the lesson may be devoted to answering certain 
questions in writing, following the plan suggested 
on pp. 14-15 ; or it may be devoted to a written 
account of a loving deed children have seen, 
occasionally in the form of a letter, or to the 
writing of a story about a child who is always 
doing kind things. 



ROBERT BRUCE 47 



2. ROBERT BRUCE 

The story of Robert Bruce and the Spider is 
familiar. (See Steps i7i English, I, p. 128.) 
A series of questions by the teacher may be 
made to bring out answers somewhat similar to 
the following : 

Outline. — " Robert Bruce is the hero of the 
story." '* The king of England was trying to 
drive him out of the land." "Out of Scotland." 
" He was king of Scotland." " The king of Eng- 
land had the larger army." "The armies had 
fought against each other six times." " Bruce 
had finally been defeated, and his army had been 
scattered." " Bruce had been obliged to hide in 
a cave." "He felt as though he were tired of liv- 
ing." " He saw a spider trying to weave a web." 
" The spider failed six times." " The spider's 
final success gave Bruce courage to try again." 
" He collected his army and defeated the Eng- 
lish." " The EngHsh king was glad to hurry to 
England." " Bruce never forgot the lesson 
learned from a spider." 



48 STORIES AND POEMS 

Whole Story. — The incidents having been 
drawn from various pupils, the whole story may 
be told. One pupil may be asked to tell the 
story without prompting, and when he is partly 
through, another may be asked to continue it, 
and later a third to finish it. 

Soldier Life. — A second lesson may be de- 
voted to the soldier idea of the selection. Many 
children can tell something of father's, grand- 
father's, or uncle's experiences in the Civil War 
or in the Spanish-American War, or in the cam- 
paigns in the Philippines. Others will be able to 
tell of something they have seen or heard during 
an encampment of the state militia ; others will 
tell of parades they have seen in which soldiers 
marched; others will know something of old 
battle flags. Many of the boys and some girls 
have played soldier, have had " play '* parades, 
have had snow forts with snowball fights, have 
played games with lead soldiers. Other experi- 
ences will be suggested by the talk in the class, 
and a period of twenty minutes can easily be 
filled with work that will suggest itself to the 
teacher having reasonable ingenuity. 



ROBERT BRUCE 49 

The Cave. — A third day may take up the 
fact that Bruce was obHged to seek refuge in a 
cave. What is a cave ? Tell of one you have 
been in. Tell of a tunnel in a great drift of 
snow. Tell of playing in the sand and making 
sand hills and digging little caves in them. 
Tell of digging a cave in the side of a bank. 
Tell of a visit to the woods when you saw a 
kind of cave under a great projecting rock. 
Tell what you imagined about Indians having 
once lived in that cave. Tell something you 
have heard or read about Mammoth Cave or 
any other wonderful cave. Tell of a visit to a 
coal mine. Every child will be able to tell of 
something here suggested. The teacher should 
talk as little as possible. Occasionally, at the 
beginning of an exercise, she may tell of an 
experience of her own, — a real experience; 
otherwise it will sound false — and thus afford a 
model for the children. But even this should 
ordinarily be omitted, after it has been done a 
few times. 

Bruce was discouraged. Children are often 
discouraged in school and in their home duties, 

ENG. GRADES — 4 



50 STORIES AND POEMS 

in their attempts to please their parents and 
their teachers, in their attempts to build 
" shanties " or to make dresses for the dolls. 

Child's Trials. — Let the children tell of 
something which they tried to do, but of 
which they became very tired before they were 
through, yet they persevered and accomplished 
it. They have grown discouraged trying to 
learn the multiplication table, to master long 
division, to learn to spell; the boys have 
thought the game was lost, but by great exer- 
tion have won it; the girls have grown tired 
cutting out a picture with a delicate outline, or 
have been tempted, when sweeping down the 
stairs or washing the dishes, to run out to play, 
but have kept on and have finished the work. 
Thus the story becomes full of real meaning to 
the child, because he finds that he has had ex- 
periences not wholly unlike those of the great 
Bruce. 

Written Work. — A fourth lesson may include 
the writing of the story as the child remembers 
it ; or, better, the writing of the story of something 
in the child's own life that has been suggested 



ROBERT BRUCE 5 I 

by the story itself. This may often take the 
form of a letter. The teacher should pass 
about the room, calling attention to errors after 
the manner suggested on p. 15. But plenty 
of oral work should precede the written exer- 
cises. The children, too, should be urged to 
use in their written work the same vocabulary 
and forms of expression that they use in oral 
work. They should often be warned against 
closing sentences with the comma, — the so- 
called *' child's error," — and should be urged 
to write comparatively short sentences. 

Spelling. — Spelling should be guarded by call- 
ing attention to the new words and writing them 
on the board, if possible making emphatic the 
particular letter or letters that are likely to cause 
error ; for example, call attention to the fact that 
the second letter in scatter is c, and that the word 
has two fs ; but do not mention that it might 
be spelled incorrectly with k or with one t ; that 
would spoil the good impression. In like manner 
show that faihtre is merely the familiar word 
fail with ure added. Such emphasis will tend 
to fix the spelling. 



52 STORIES AND POEMS 

3. THE FLAG GOES BY 

" The Flag Goes By " (see Steps in English, 

I, p. 205) is a poem quite different from the 

stanza treated earlier, and it has features that 

call for additional and important treatment ; for, 

very early in the school course, the pupil should 

begin to develop his power to see pictures with 

closed eyes and to hear sounds suggested in 

literature. 

The Flag Goes By 

Hats off! 
Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, 
A flash of color beneath the sky ; 

Hats off! 
The flag is passing by ! 

Blue and crimson and white it shines, 
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. 

Hats off! 
The colors before us fly ; 
But more than the flag is passing by. 

Sea fights and land fights, grim and great, 
Fought to make and to save the state ; 



THE FLAG GOES BY 53 

Weary marches and sinking ships ; 
Cheers of victory on dying lips. 

Hats off! 
Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums ; 
And loyal hearts are beating high : 

Hats off! 
The flag is passing by ! 

— Henry Holcomb Bennett. 

After the poem has been read silently by each 
pupil and then aloud by one, the teacher may 
bring out by questions the fact that it pictures a 
street scene and that a procession is passing 
along, insisting that the pupil discover in the 
poem definite lines or statements that make 
known these facts. 

The idea that is implied in the imperative 
" Hats off ! " may next be developed. Ques- 
tions will draw some such replies as the follow- 
ing : 

" Men usually take their hats off to ladies." 
" They do this to show respect." "They take 
off their hats to noted persons." " This also is 



54 STORIES AND POEMS 

done to show honor to the persons." " A man 
speaking out of doors to a crowd of people 
takes off his hat." "He does it for the same 
reason." "Sometimes men take off their hats 
when they stand at a door talking to a person 
inside." " Some persons take off their hats 
when they pass a funeral procession to show 
respect for the dead." " Men take off their 
hats when they go into church, into a dwelling, 
into a school, into almost any kind of meeting." 
" This is done out of respect for some one." 

The Flag. — The expression "'Steel-tipped, 
ordered lines * shows that a body of soldiers is 
passing." " * A blare of bugles, a ruffle of 
drums ' shows that a band is marching ahead 
of the soldiers." "The last line of the first 
stanza shows that the flag is being carried in 
the procession." " The first line of the second 
stanza shows that it is * the red, white, and 
blue.' " " The word 'over' shows that it is being 
carried among the soldiers and not among the 
musicians." "The author feels that we should 
all honor the flag." " Because he feels this he 
says * Hats off ! ' " 



THE FLAG GOES BY 55 

"The flag is in great service in battle." 
"Because soldiers love it and will go wher- 
ever it is carried to prevent its being captured." 
"It is also of value over schoolhouses." "Be- 
cause it teaches boys and girls to love it and to 
honor it." " I have read of battles where the 
flag was present." " I have also read of sea 
fights where the flag was present." "To see 
the flag ought to make us think of famous sea 
fights and of well-known battles." " We should 
also think of the brave men that fought for the 
flag in these fights." " * Grim ' means that they 
were fierce." " * Great ' means that they helped 
to free the nation and to make it strong." " Or 
perhaps it means that a large number of men 
fought on each side." "'The state' is our 
country." "The battles in the Revolutionary 
War were to make our state." " Those in the 
Civil War were to save the unity of the state." 

These questions should all be answered : 
How does the last stanza differ from the first } 
Why did the author make it so Hke the first } 
What does he mean by "hearts" } By "beat- 
ing high " ? By " loyal hearts " ? 



56 STORIES AND POEMS 

Mental Pictures. — The pupils having been 
given a fair understanding of the meaning of 
the poem, they should be urged to try to see, 
with closed eyes, " the steel-tipped, ordered 
lines." Only a single hint is given to kindle 
the imagination for this picture, but the habit 
of always trying to see clearly the picture sug- 
gested by a writer should be formed. So pupils 
should try to see " a flash of color beneath the 
sky," the musicians with the bugles, the tired 
soldiers making the weary march, the sinking 
ship. So they should be urged to hear, in 
imagination, the bugles, the drums, the sound 
of the marching soldiers, the commands of the 
captain, the sound of the guns as the soldiers 
are ordered to change their positions, the cheers 
of welcome, the shouting of the crowd as the 
procession passes. They should be urged to 
try to feel as the spectators felt who watched a 
body of soldiers pass by ; to feel as the weary 
soldiers felt at the end of a long, hot day's 
march ; to feel as the army felt at the moment 
of victory ; to feel as loyal hearts feel when they 
are beating high. 



THE FLAG GOES BY 57 

Written Work. — The written work may in- 
clude the writing of an account of anything 
from the child's experience, or of a letter, or 
the writing of the poem, or part of it, from 
memory, or from dictation. 

Pupils should never, however, be asked to 
rewrite a poem in their own words. An occa- 
sional prose exercise of this kind may be per- 
mitted, but never one dealing with poetry. If 
a poem is worthy of its name, it cannot possibly 
be written in prose, and children should never 
be asked to try to put it in prose form. 

Such work with poems and stories as has 
been suggested will help pupils toward appre- 
ciative reading ; it will help to make them 
understand that literature is made up of inci- 
dents and experiences not entirely different 
from those in their own lives ; and it will afford 
a suggestive means to the very important end 
of securing oral and written expression of their 
own thoughts and feelings. 



IV 

LETTER WRITING 

Importance. — Letter writing should, of course, 
be practiced regularly and persistently through- 
out the school course. Even as early as the last 
months of the first school year children may be 
permitted to write a few brief notes, such as the 
following : 

" Dear Miss Hammond : 

" After school I play with my doll. Her 
name is Mary. She has a velvet dress. I like to 
play with her. 

"Louise Hart." 

These notes should tell the parents of some- 
thing done at school, should ask an absent friend 
why he is not at school, should tell the teacher 
what the child plays at home. Each should 
come from the child's own thinking, and, of 
course, from his experience, merely the subject 
being suggested by the teacher. During the 
58 



LETTER WRITING 59 

second year similar notes may be written as 
often as every two weeks, with an occasional 
week when one is written daily. 

Outline. — During the fourth year, perhaps 
as early as the third, the child may be taught 
to put in the heading. Care must be taken 
that the child put in all the necessary items 
from the first, including street and number, or 
rural free-delivery route, post office, state, and 
date. The name of the month and of the state 
may be abbreviated, but the name of the city 
or town should never be. Correct punctuation 
between the items should be insisted on. 

Drill. — Beginning with the third year, at 
least once a week the written work should be 
cast in the letter form. No matter of what 
the child is writing, he can tell his mother or 
friend about it, and thus have practice in the 
letter form. It is very essential that he ac- 
quire the habit of using the letter form cor- 
rectly, with its necessary punctuation. 

At least one letter should be written each 
week. Further, during a month or more, three 
or four letters should be written each week. 



6o LETTER WRITING 

in order to emphasize the letter form, since it 
is the one he will use most in life. 

Each must deal with something of vital in- 
terest to him, something within his experience. 

Business Forms. — Not later than the fifth 
year the child should be made familiar with 
the full business letter form, the name and 
complete address of the person to whom the 
letter is written, as well as the heading, being 
inserted at the beginning. 

He should write orders to the grocer, orders 
for papers, orders for a change of address ; 
should ask the plumber, the piano tuner, the 
carpenter to call ; should apply for a position ; 
ask for catalogues. The boy will thus practice 
many letters that the man will probably have 
to write. 

During the later years of school the weekly 
letter drill should occasionally include the writ- 
ing of postal cards, heavy paper or tag board 
being cut the proper size. The writing of brief 
Wanted, To Let, For Sale advertisements, and 
the writing of telegrams, may also be included. 



V 



COMPOSITION WORK 

IN THE SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH 
YEARS 

Kinds of Exercises. — Composition in the 
grammar school should follow the general lines 
laid down for the earlier years. Exercises in 
observation, in pictures, and in literature may be 
regularly continued. Oral composition should 
be a definite feature of the work, and the whole, 
as before, should be based upon the child's ex- 
perience. He will thus come to understand 
that his appreciation of pictures and of litera- 
ture rests largely upon the facts of life that he 
has seen, had part in, or felt. 

I. OBSERVATION WORK 

Character Hints. — The observation work of 
the sixth school year may take a somewhat 
6i 



62 COMPOSITION WORK 

wider range than it has heretofore taken. The 
child should now be taught to observe con- 
sciously the actions of his schoolmates and of 
the people he sees from day to day. This he 
has been doing subconsciously since baby- 
hood. He has been liking and disliking people 
because of what they said or did, and for no 
other reasons. Of this he should now be made 
conscious. 

The Teacher»s Story. — The teacher may 
make the first lesson a brief, direct account of 
something she has recently seen, as : 

" When I was going home from school last night, I 
saw a number of little boys and girls playing in the 
snow. A roughly dressed workingman came along, 
and they called, ' Do you want a winter apple ? ' 

" He said, ' Yes, a dozen of them ! ' and smiled at 
the children. They at once began to throw snowballs 
at him. He kept laughing as the balls hit his body. 
All at once he stooped down and picked up a double 
handful of soft snow. Then he ran up to the little 
children and threw it at one of them. Then he picked 
up more snow and threw it at others. But I noticed 
that he was careful not to let any of it strike them in 
the face or on the neck or hair. He was laughing 



OBSERVATION WORK 63 

loudly all the time and seemed to have as much fun as 
any of the children. After a while he ran away as fast 
as he could, still laughing. 

" Now children, would you like to know this man ? 
If you would, who will tell me why ? " 

By this plan the teacher may induce her 
pupils to tell little incidents that make them 
like, as well as those that make them dislike, 
people. It will usually require some persever- 
ance to make pupils realize that they have seen 
such incidents, their attention not having been 
especially directed to them. Soon, however, 
they will find themselves seeing events about 
which they will be eager to tell or to write. 

Subjects from Life. — After the oral work 
each child may be asked to write an account, 
perhaps in letter form, of something he has 
seen. Such a written lesson may be given every 
week or two during the grammar school years. 
At first the pupils should be told that they 
will be expected to write upon a given sub- 
ject at a prescribed time, and asked to watch 
for incidents. Thus they will become accus- 
tomed to seeing actions that reveal character, 



64 COMPOSITIOxN WORK 

and will be led to understand and interpret 
their meaning. Further, they will begin to 
scan with a clearer eye their own acts, and a 
change in the behavior of many pupils will 
often result. 

Seventh Year. — During the seventh year the 
observation work may follow yet broader lines. 
The child may be taught now to observe actions 
that make known f eeUng. Again the work may 
be begun by the teacher's story : 

" Yesterday afternoon I saw a little girl standing at 
a window. She was looking down the street. All 
at once she began to smile. Then she disappeared 
from the window. In half a minute the front door of 
the house flew open, and the little girl hurried out and 
ran as fast as she could down the street. In a moment 
she jumped into the arms of a man who was coming 
up the street. I soon passed them, and I heard her 
say to the man, ' It was so good of you, Uncle John, 
to send me that lovely doll for my birthday.' " 

Mood Hints. — Questions will then follow as 
to why the girl was at the window, why the 
smile, why the door flew open, why the girl 
ran, why she jumped into the man's arms. 



OBSERVATION WORK 6$ 

The answers must bring out the different 
feelings or emotions that prompted the various 
acts. Then the question may be asked, " Sup- 
pose it had been a boy at the window, who 
was watching for his father, knowing that he 
w^ould be punished by him as soon as he 
reached home. What would have been his feel- 
ings, and how would he have shown them ? " 

Work of this kind, both oral and written, 
may occasionally be given during the eighth 
year as well as during the seventh, often using 
the letter form. 

Description. — During the seventh year and 
the eighth the observation exercises should also 
be made to include conscious recognition of the 
few details that show how one room, land- 
scape, or street differs from every other. This 
work may begin with a bit of description : 

" It was a comfortable old room, although the 
carpet was faded and the furniture was plain ; for a 
good picture or two hung on the wall, books filled the 
recesses, chrysanthemums and Christmas roses bloomed 
in the windows, and a pleasant atmosphere of home- 
peace pervaded it." (See Sfeps in E?iglish, II, p. 298.) 

ENG. GRADES — 5 



66 COMPOSITION WORK 

Here the mention of the faded carpet, the 
plain furniture, the books, and the flowers 
(notice how much better the particular names 
are than the general word " flowers ") not only 
makes us see the room, but also helps us to 
know a number of things about the people 
who live in the room, — that they like flowers 
and pictures and books. 

Written Work. — A written description of a 
room may follow, the child picking out the 
five or six individualizing details ; so with a 
description of winter or spring, of a business 
street or a residence street, of a neglected yard 
or store and of a neat one, of a storm, or of a 
party. The teacher must never forget that a 
paragraph of the child's own thinking is far 
better than thrice as much rewriting of the 
thought of another. Let all compositions be 
brief, unless the child is anxious to write at 
length. The letter form will be found both 
interesting and profitable. 

Observation work of this sort should be em- 
phasized throughout the eighth year. This 
final year of the grammar school should in- 



PICTURES 6y 

elude all that the preceding years have de- 
veloped, but with much more accurate and 
exact results. The value of particular words 
may be emphasized, — of chrysanthemums in- 
stead oi flowers ; the afternoon dragged 2\ox\%y 
instead of went slowly ; the flies were buzzing 
about the room, instead of flying; the boy 
stamped out of the room, not walked heavily. 

2. PICTURES 

Character in Pictures. — The study of pictures 
during grammar school years will of necessity 
follow in general the lines pursued during the 
earlier years. Naturally, more complicated 
pictures may be examined, and more mature 
experience appealed to. As the pupil begins 
to recognize actions in life that reveal charac- 
ter, he may be taught to recognize them also 
in pictures. He may be shown how the well- 
known picture by Gerome, " The Gladiator 
Condemned" {Steps in English, II, p. 334), 
makes known the cruel character of the Roman 
people nineteen hundred years ago ; how Luke 



68 COMPOSITION WORK 

Fildes's " The Doctor " {Steps in English, I, 
p. 199) makes us like the doctor because of 
the gentle and unselfish character that we feel 
is suggested ; how the widely known " David " 
{Steps in English, II, p. 322) makes known the 
young man's noble character ; how " Breaking 
the Home Ties " (Steps in English, II, p. 300) 
shows the character of the lad and of his parents. 
So, too, the pupil may be shown that feeling is 
frequently portrayed in pictures, as is done in 
each of those above mentioned. 

Child's Life. — But the important thing in 
picture study, as language work, is to make it 
draw out the child's observations and experi- 
ences so that he will talk and write about them. 
'' The Gladiator " may suggest an account of a 
wrestling match or a race that he has chanced 
to see ; may suggest a visit to the circus, or 
playing circus ; may suggest an account of the 
man who walked the tight rope above the 
village street ; and from each of these experi- 
ences will arise many others. The same picture 
may bring from the teacher an account of the 
vestal virgins and their duties, and this may 



PICTURES 69 

suggest a long series of experiences in charity 
work, in helping mother or grandma, in doing 
something for others. ** Breaking the Home 
Ties " may suggest various kinds of trips from 
home, with their accompanying experiences and 
adventures, real or imagined; may suggest expe- 
riences of a city boy on the farm or of a country 
boy in the city ; may suggest stories about the 
fidelity of dogs; may suggest descriptions of 
rooms and rides and places seen. *' David " will 
suggest for a boy, hunting experiences ; for a 
girl, experiences with pets ; may suggest experi- 
ences when alone in the house or woods, with 
the accompanying emotions ; may suggest trips 
with a friend into remote parts of the city or 
into the country ; may suggest the search for 
the missing brother or sister of tender years. 
" The Doctor " will suggest childhood experi- 
ences of playing doctor and playing house ; ex- 
periences when ill, or when mother or sister 
was ill ; experiences going for the doctor. Every 
picture has its appeals to the definite experi- 
ences of each child. The teacher, however, 
must point out to the child the possibilities of 



70 COMPOSITION WORK 

the picture, as he himself will not be equal to the 
task. 

Caution. — It will be well for teachers to 
remember that the study of a painter's biog- 
raphy and the learning of a list of his famous 
paintings is not the study of pictures. That 
information may have its value, but it does not 
teach the child to think; and independent think- 
ing should always be the aim in picture study. 
Nor is a composition on the life of the artist 
nearly so good an exercise as is a composition 
dealing with an incident in the writer's own 
experience. One is simply memory of facts 
given by the teacher, with a little original 
arrangement. The other is independent think- 
ing. 

3. LITERATURE 

Appeal to Feelings. — The study of stories 
and poems in the grammar school should 
emphasize the fact that literature is primarily 
an appeal to the feelings. Nor is it now too 
early for the child to learn that the literary 
artist has but two general ways of appealing to 



LITERATURE 71 

the feelings of his readers, — by details and by 
suggestive words. 

Character in Literature. — The child has 
learned to recognize in Hfe those details that 
show character and those that make known 
feeling, as well as those that describe. He 
now must learn to recognize them in literature, 
and to understand them. In the reading 
lessons, in the history, and in the study cf biog- 
raphy the teacher should never let the pupil 
pass clearly indicated details showing character, 
and the same is true of acts showing feeling, 
— the feeling suggested must be consciously 
recognized. 

In Ivankoe Scott wishes to make the reader 
know the Palmer and like him : 

"While Isaac thus stood . . . looking in vain for 
welcome or resting place, the pilgrim who sat by the 
chimney took compassion upon him, and resigned his 
seat, saying briefly, ' Old man, my garments are dried, 
my hunger is appeased ; thou art both wet and fast- 
ing.' So saying he gathered together and brought to 
a flame the decaying brands which lay scattered on the 
ample hearth ; took from the larger board a mess of 



72 



COMPOSITION WORK 



pottage and seethed kid, and placed it upon the small 
table at which he had himself supped." 

We cannot read this without feeling the un- 
selfishness of the Palmer and without liking 
him. Nor is it possible for us to read the fol- 
lowing passage without' feeling the deUght felt 
by the crowd over the rescue of a boy from a 
burning building : 

*' Then such a shout went up ! Men fell on each 
other's necks and cried and laughed at once. Strangers 
slapped one another on the back with glistening faces, 
shook hands, and behaved, generally, like men gone 
suddenly mad. Women wept in the streets." 

Emotions. — Children unconsciously get much 
of the deeper meaning here. They get more of it 
if they consciously recognize the crying, laugh- 
ing, slapping, the glistening faces, the hand shak- 
ing, and the weeping as details showing, not the 
character, but the feelings of the people. They 
should be shown that they do similar things, 
and should be asked to write and tell about 
them. 



VI 
GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

It is now generally conceded that Professor 
Whitney is right in his contention that it is not 
the function of English Grammar " to teach the 
art of speaking and writing the Enghsh language 
with propriety." Taught alone, grammar fails 
to give faciUty and accuracy of expression. 
And facility and accuracy, in the order given, 
are surely the purpose of Enghsh teaching in 
the grades. 

In the reaction, however, which has followed 
this conclusion, there has been some tendency 
to forget that grammar has a legitimate function, 
and that it has a clearly defined value in the 
grades. 

Value. — The value of the study of grammar 
is threefold: (i) It gives a standard for the 
correction of errors in oral and written expres- 
73 



74 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

sion of thought ; that is, it gives us a means of 
knowing when we are right ; (2) it develops 
power to understand the exact meaning of 
sentences; and (3) it trains the power of ana- 
lytic judgment. A subject aiming at such im- 
portant ends must have a place in the grades. 
But that place is very limited in the early years 
of the school course, and by no means exclusive 
in the later years. To omit technical grammar 
will greatly lessen both the practical and the 
disciplinary value of school work. 

Mechanics of Writing. — In the first two years 
the grammar, or the mechanical side of lan- 
guage study, will include only the capitalization 
of proper names and of the first word of a sen- 
tence, and the terminal uses of the period and 
interrogation point. To these will be added, in 
the third year, the other uses of the period ; the 
absolute uses of the comma (see Steps in 
English, I, p. 239); the additional uses of 
capital letters; the apostrophe in contractions 
and to show possession ; the hyphen at the end 
of a line betwee^i syllables ; and the simple uses 
of quotation marks. 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 75 

These mechanical points in writing may best 
be taught, probably, by frequently calling the 
attention of the pupil to them as they occur in 
his reading, and by insisting that he insert them 
regularly in his written work. 

When he fails to use them properly, a pupil 
should have his attention called to the error by 
means of a mark of some sort, preferably a 
number referring to a rule, ^ and he should be 
required to correct the errcr himself. 

Correcting Papers. — For the teacher to make 
ordinary corrections is a waste of time, as it 
fails entirely to make the pupil think. Even if 
he is compelled to make a correct copy of his 
written work in an exercise book, his attention is 
not called to the principle involved, as is done 
when he makes the correction himself. 

Division of Work. — At least four out of five 
exercises in language during the early years 
should be primarily oral or written constructive 
work involving the child's experiences. The 
fifth may be a formal lesson along the line of 

1 A simple and effective method of correcting papers will be 
found in Steps in English, I, p. 237 ; II, p. 343. 



ye GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

the mechanical side, consisting of dictation 
work, of punctuation exercises, of work in 
abbreviations or in letter forms. But the 
prime object of the work must be the develop- 
ment of facility. 

Fourth Year. — During the fourth school year 
one lesson each week may be given to a kind of 
formal grammar, the aim during the whole year 
being to teach the child to distinguish the sub- 
ject, the predicate, and the complement. 

Subjects. — Beginning with a sentence of 
two words, as '' Boys run," the teacher may 
ask, " Who is spoken of in this sentence } " 
From the answer the child may be taught that 
the word telling who or what is spoken of, or 
that of which something is said, is called the 
subject. He may be drilled in selecting the 
subjects of many such sentences. 

Next a group of words may be taken as 
the subject, as " Boys and girls run," or *' The 
little boys run," and he may pick out such 
groups. 

Predicates. — In a similar way he may be 
taught to select predicates. So he may be 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 77 

taught the use of is and are by such sentences 
as " The boy is running," and " The boys are 
running." The modified subject and predicate 
may next be introduced, but with no mention 
of adjectives, adverbs, or phrases ; as, " The 
Httle boy is running in the field ; " ** The girl in 
a blue dress ran across the street." 

Phrases. — Simple phrases may now be taught 
consciously, first as modifiers and then as sub- 
jects ; as, " Running races is good fun ; " " To 
honor the flag is patriotic." Next the clause 
may be introduced as subject; as, "What the 
boy said is not known." Then will come 
attribute complements, followed by object com- 
plements, showing in very simple sentences how 
words, phrases, and clauses are used in these 
relations. 

Of course no attempt should be made to 
teach these subjects exhaustively. The purpose 
is to give the child additional power to get the 
meaning of what he reads, power to determine 
what is expressed in a sentence. 

To do this he need be taught only the tech- 
nical terms subject, predicate, object, phrase. 



yS GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

and clause. Nothing need be said about the 
parts of speech. They may be taken up during 
the fifth year, not earlier. 

Fifth Year. — As in the earlier years, the 
greater part of the fifth year, at least four 
lessons out of five, should be devoted to oral 
and written constructive work. 

Parts of Speech. — The fifth lesson, however, 
may deal with the parts of speech. Here, 
again, the study should not be exhaustive. 
Naturally the work will begin with nouns. 
These may be followed by pronouns, as these 
two parts of speech furnish subjects. Com- 
mon and proper nouns will be distinguished, 
and something of gender, number, and case 
will be taught. Thus the work becomes prac- 
tical, as the child learns of the case forms of 
pronouns and of the possessive forms of nouns, 
and he gains a standard by which to judge the 
accuracy of his work. 

It is probably unwise at this time to do much 
more with verbs than to show that their princi- 
pal parts must be properly used, and to make 
clear that they show either past, present, or 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 79 

future time. Any discussion of mode is unwise 
with children of this grade. Much work in the 
proper use of the principal parts likely to be 
misused should, of course, be introduced. The 
drill in adjectives and adverbs will occupy 
but Httle time if the work of the fourth year 
in modified subjects and predicates has been 
effectively done. The child will easily grasp 
the idea that single words modifying the subject 
are adjectives, and those modifying the predicate 
are adverbs. 

Why Early Grammar. — If all children re- 
mained in school throughout eight years, or 
even throughout six, it would probably be wise 
to postpone all study of grammar proper until 
after the fifth school year. But as it is, with 
many children compelled to leave school at the 
age of eleven or twelve, it seems wise to devote 
a single lesson per week during the fourth and 
fifth years to a simple study of the important 
principles of grammar. Such a study gives the 
boy who leaves school at twelve a simple stand- 
ard by which to judge oral and written expres- 
sion, gives him vastly more power to grasp the 



8o GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

thought of the printed page tharx he otherwise 
would have, and gives him a training in analytic 
thought processes that will be of definite value 
to him throughout his life. The teacher who 
regularly devotes four recitations each week to 
oral or written constructive work, making her 
pupils correct their own errors after she has 
indicated them, according to the plan suggested 
on pp. 92-94 or a similar one, will find that a 
single lesson each week in the grammar work 
here outlined will not be an unpleasant change 
for the pupils, will help somewhat toward the 
accuracy that should go hand in hand with 
facility, and will in no way detract from the far 
more important language work that aims to give 
facility of expression by making the child talk 
and write of the experiences that come to him 
in his everyday life. 

Sixth Year. — Grammar in the sixth year 
should still be subsidiary to language work, 
the proportion being perhaps two lessons in 
grammar to three in composition. In the 
seventh and eighth years the ideal course will 
provide a recitation in each subject daily. But 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 8 1 

time for this will not be found in many schools. 
Such an ideal should be approximated as nearly 
as possible, but where only a single period a day 
can be afforded for English, at least two periods 
each week should be given to composition, — 
perhaps three in the seventh year, the same 
as in the sixth. 

The grammar work of the sixth year should 
be begun with the idea that the child knows 
practically nothing of the science, and a much 
more complete study may now be under- 
taken. 

The Sentence. — Logically the work must be- 
gin with the sentence rather than with the word. 
The sentence is the unit of complete expression. 
With it thought is conceived, and with it is 
given expression. 

The general plan already outlined must be 
employed. The kinds of sentences as classified 
by use for affirming, asking, and commanding 
should first be taught. Then the study of sub- 
jects and predicates ; of independent elements, 
such as the introductory there, yes, no ; words of 
address; and words in apposition. Then will 

ENG. GRADES — 6 



82 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

follow a drill in the recognition of the parts of 
speech and of modifiers. This, with a generous 
amount of drill work and the composition work 
suggested (see p. 6i), will go far toward filling 
the time that can be devoted to Enghsh in the 
sixth year. 

Some teachers will deem it wise to include 
in the sixth year the drill in complements and 
indirect objects. Others will prefer to postpone 
this until the seventh year. 

Seventh Year. — Comparatively few teachers 
will object to beginning a study of grammar at 
this time with the complete sentence, and teach- 
ing consecutively subject, predicate, the parts 
of speech, modifiers, and complements in the 
seventh year. Many feel, however, that next 
should be introduced the classifications, in- 
flections, and relations of the various parts of 
speech, supporting their contention with the 
argument that such study helps toward accuracy. 
They contend that a lad cannot know what 
form of pronoun to use after a preposition, 
what form of noun to use to show possession, 
what form of verb to use to make known a de- 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 83 

sired time, or what a relative clause is, unless 
he has studied these subjects. 

Were it true that the lad gets this knowledge 
from grammar alone, this view might be ac- 
cepted. But he gets this knowledge from prac- 
tice far more than from theory. Hand in hand 
with his grammar is going regular composition 
work, if the plan suggested on p. 4 is followed. 
The serious errors in his written work are being 
pointed out by the careful teacher. He is learn- 
ing by practice to use the proper form. The 
theory to test his accuracy may well be post- 
poned, especially as its introduction at this point 
seems logically inconsistent. 

Infinitives, etc. — It seems more reasonable, 
having begun with a study of the sentence and 
its elements, to complete that subject before a 
different one is begun. Therefore it is probably 
wiser to follow the study of subject, predi- 
cate, modifiers, parts of speech, and comple- 
ments with the study of infinitives, participles, 
phrases, and clauses. For infinitives, participles, 
phrases, and clauses are words or combinations 
of words that are used as parts of speech, and 



84 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

without a knowledge of them the study of sub- 
jects, predicates, complements, and modifiers 
cannot be completed. 

Clauses. — That infinitives, participles, phrases, 
and clauses really do the work of parts of speech 
is a fact on which too much emphasis cannot be 
placed. Many children find here a difficulty 
which they nev^er surmount. Much drill, there- 
fore, should be given on every possible use of 
the infinitive, the participle, the phrase, and the 
clause. No book can furnish in itself sufficient 
drill for this work. The exercises in the text- 
book should be supplemented by many exercises 
culled from other books, as well as by much 
drill in selecting these elements from prose and 
poetry, and in determining their use. 

Constructive Work. — Further, the construc- 
tive side of this work should be emphasized. 
The class may be given the infinitive to run, 
and told to use it as a noun : (<^) as subject, {b) 
as complement, (c) as attribute complement, 
(^) as appositive ; to use it as an adjective ; to 
use it as an adverb ; to use it as a part of, or as 
the implied predicate {a) of, the subject (For 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 85 

him to run is a delight), and {b) of the object 
complement (He wishes the boy to run). Many 
infinitives may be given for such practice, and 
the result will be a far more practical under- 
standing of the infinitive as a part of speech. 
Similar work may be done with the participle 
in its various uses (not forgetting its use in the 
independent, or absolute phrase), with the phrase, 
and with the clause. 

Whether ninning in certain uses shall be 
called a verbal noun, a gerund, a participle, or 
the infinitive in -ing, and whether to rim, when 
used in a certain construction shall be called 
an infinitive or a verbal noun, are matters of 
very slight importance. If the pupil thoroughly 
understands their distinctive uses and can with 
accuracy determine their various functions in a 
sentence, he knows the important thing. 

Drill. — In the teaching of infinitives and 
participles it is also of the utmost importance 
that the pupil be made to understand clearly 
that each of them retains its verbal power. 
This is shown by the active infinitives and 
participles of transitive verbs requiring com- 



S6 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

plements. This fact is especially difficult for 
the pupil to master, and it will require much 
drill. It can scarcely be emphasized too much. 
If it is neglected, the child will often fail to 
understand the construction of the word serving 
an infinitive or a participle as complement. 

This careful and detailed study of infinitives, 
participles, phrases, and clauses, together with 
the closely alHed subject of simple, complex, 
and compound sentences, will fill the time that 
can wisely be given to the study of grammar 
during the seventh school year. Of course, 
the composition work, the really practical side 
of all school work in English, should occupy 
at least half the time given to EngHsh during 
this year. 

Eighth Year. — The grammar work of the 
eighth year, the last year of the grammar 
school, will include the parts of speech with 
special regard to their classification, inflections, 
and relations. Much of this work is really 
simpler and more easily mastered than is the 
work suggested for the seventh year. There 
is, however, far more of it, and it will really 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES Sy 

occupy more time than the work called for in 
the seventh year. Therefore, if during this year 
but a single period can be given daily to Eng- 
lish, three periods weekly should be given to 
grammar and two to composition. But nothing 
should prevent at least two periods weekly 
being given to the valuable drill that comes 
from oral and written exercises. It is the heart 
of all English work. Without it the study of 
English is mere dry bones, a skeleton without 
flesh and blood. 

Aim. — The work of the eighth year is really 
a study of the principles with which the pupil 
has been becoming practically familiar in all 
his preceding composition drill. Its aim should 
be to give him the power of testing his own 
work for accuracy. The brunt of the language 
exercises, therefore, should bear on those sub- 
jects in which error is likely. For example, in 
studying the noun, stress should fall upon pos- 
sessive forms and upon the meaning of a col- 
lective noun as a basis for determining the 
verb form that shall follow it, rather than upon 
gender and number, in which error is unlikely. 



S8 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

Syntax. — The use of the pronoun forms 
should receive far more time than the classifi- 
cation of pronouns. The proper and consistent 
use of tenses and of the principal parts of irreg- 
ular verbs is more important in the study of 
verbs than is the power to determine person. 
So, too, in the study of the verb the progres- 
sive form of the conjugation should receive 
more consideration than is usually given to it. 
We very seldom say, " I write," or " He writes" ; 
we say, ** I am writing," and '* He is writing." 
In Uke manner we say, " I was writing," and 
" I have been writing," more frequently than 
we use the so-called regular forms. Pupils 
seldom master this fact from the theoretical 
side, and consequently are Hkely in writing to use 
the " regular " rather than the idiomatic forms. 

Adjectives. — In the study of adjectives it is 
more important to make the child understand 
the use of the comparative degree with two, 
and of the superlative with more than two, and 
the exclusion of the thing spoken of, than it is 
to drill him on the comparison of irregular ad- 
jectives. He knows the latter from use; he 



GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 89 

does not know the former, as he has probably 
been making these errors all his life. 

The Aim. — The principal thing, therefore, 
during this year is for the teacher to select the 
important practical points in the study of each 
part of speech, and to emphasize them. 

Caution. — In all grammar teaching care 
must be taken not to emphasize the unimpor- 
tant. Time spent in trying to decide disputed 
points, in trying to parse idiomatic words, and 
in trying to analyze idiomatic constructions is 
time wasted. Teachers should ever be ready to 
say, " This is a construction that does not come 
within the regular principles of grammar, and 
we should not spend time with it." This is far 
better than to feel that every word and construc- 
tion must be minutely examined and labeled. 

The power to get the meaning of a sentence 
lies in the mastery of subject, predicate, com- 
plements, and modifiers ; the power to know 
what is correct comes from the study of the 
parts of speech in their inflections and relations ; 
the drill in analytical judgment comes from all 
the study of grammar. 



go GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

I. DIAGRAMS 

Whether the diagram shall have a place in 
the school of to-day is a question that has been 
widely and often acrimoniously discussed. The 
writer of this book believes thoroughly in its 
value, provided it is made a means to an end, 
rather than an end in itself. To him it seems 
that the faults which have been ascribed to the 
diagram lie in its misuse. 

Value. — The diagram is of value to the 
teacher because it enables her to see quickly 
and exactly whether the pupil knows the con- 
struction of a given sentence. This knowledge 
the teacher can gain far more quickly from a 
diagram than she can from either oral or written 
analysis. It is of value to the pupil, (i) because 
it gives him a concrete representation of ab- 
stract knowledge ; (2) because it holds his inter- 
est ; (3) because it saves his time. Making 
diagrams is far more interesting to the average 
child than making written analyses or pre- 
paring written parsing, and it serves the same 
purpose. 



PARSING 91 

Form. — The sentence and the diagram 
should be developed together. As the various 
parts of the sentence are learned the diagram 
should be introduced to picture the relation of 
these parts to each other. 

The particular form of diagram is of no great 
importance, provided it is simple and graphic. 
The form used in Steps in English meets these 
conditions and may be readily applied to all the 
different kinds of sentences. 

2. PARSING 

Value. — The question of parsing is hardly 
less mooted than that of diagrams. That pars- 
ing is a valuable exercise both from a practical 
and from an educational standpoint is undoubted. 
It is also true that in the past needless time has 
often been given to this subject. 

Form. — In general it is probably wise to 
require considerable parsing, but to require it 
in a much briefer form than that often used. 
A form of parsing that tells the part of speech 
and its use in the sentence seems more valuable 
than a form that calls for anything more. 



92 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 



3. THE CORRECTION OF WRITTEN WORK 

Plan. — That the child should learn to avoid 
ordinary errors in written work is both desirable 
and necessary. That this has not been accom- 
plished by the methods in use in the past is 
evidenced by the errors made by most graduates 
of grammar and high schools, and even of 
colleges and universities. The men who can 
write a page of accurate English are probably a 
small minority of those who must write. 

For the teacher to correct the errors on the 
child's paper is worse than useless ; it wastes 
the teacher's time and does the child no good. 
In order to avoid errors the child must learn to 
recognize the errors to which he is prone, and 
he must learn to think ; but he learns little or 
nothing by glancing hastily at a number of blue 
marks on his paper. 

How to Mark. — Written work should never be 
corrected by the teacher. It should be marked 
either with signs or with numbers referring to 
a list of principles ; numbers are preferable, as 



THE CORRECTION OF WRITTEN WORK 93 

they enable the teacher to be more exact and 
the pupil to understand more clearly. The 
paper being returned to the pupil with these 
marks, he must find the error, understand the 
principal violated, and make the correction. 
He is thus learning to recognize his individual 
errors, and is learning to think. The objection 
usually made to such a method is that it requires 
too much time. The answer is that results 
rather than quantity must be aimed at. Per- 
haps only one paper in three can be marked 
and corrected. The results will be far more 
satisfactory from this than they will be if all 
papers are corrected by the teacher. The child 
must make the corrections. 

Illustration. — To make the suggestion more 
concrete, the child hands in the paper reading 
thus : 

in school to-day we had a speUing mach. i 
was on Mary piper's side and we won. I like 
spelling maches 

When returned by the teacher it is marked 
thus: 



94 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

in school to-day we had a spelling 5 a-4-^g 
mach. i was on Mary piper's side 5 d 
and we won. I like spelling maches 4-6 a 

The numbers on the right refer to a series of 
rules (see Steps in English^ I, p. 238 ; II, 
p. 343), and call attention to the use of capitals 
to begin sentences and proper names, and for 
the word /; to a request to spell correctly ; and 
to the use of a period at the end of a sentence. 

Value. — Practical teachers at once see the 
value of the child's finding where the error is 
and making the correction himself. If the 
teacher is using a book containing no such 
method for the indication of errors, she can 
readily prepare a set of rules for herself, putting 
it on the board or mimeographing it for the 
children. 

Of course the teacher must see that the cor- 
rections are properly made, but the value of the 
plan warrants the use of time for its full accom- 
plishment. 

This plan is used in some schools as early as 
the last third of the first school year, the only 



THE CORRECTION OF WRITTEN WORK 95 

rules being those for capitals and for terminal 
punctuation. Here, as well as in higher grades 
when the writing is done in school, it is wise for 
the teacher to pass along the aisles while the 
children are writing. Her eye is on their work, 
and as she detects an error she merely places a 
number on the margin and leaves to the child 
the task of discovering and correcting the mis- 
take. 

Errors. — Of course where errors are numer- 
ous, only the worst should be pointed out in 
this manner. In some cases, as in that of chil- 
dren of foreign-born parents, the method must 
be supplemented by much personal work by the 
teacher ; but such cases really call for individual 
rather than for class instruction. 

Oral Accuracy. — An effective method for 
securing oral accuracy is to keep on the board 
at all times two or three expressions for which 
incorrect expressions are frequently used. Per- 
haps three minutes each day may be taken for 
chorus work, the class repeating these forms of 
expression. Thus the tongue becomes habitu- 
ated to the correct form and ultimately adopts 



96 GRAMMAR IN THE GRADES 

it. Examples of such expressions are : he 
doesn't, she doesn't, it doesn't; he isn't, she 
isn't, it isn't; I'm not, you're not, they're not. 
Oft repeated, these correct contractions will 
take the place of ain't and don't. Any teacher 
can easily add to the list. (See Steps in English^ 
I, pp. 5-8.) 



Steps in 
English 



By A. C. McLean, A. M., Principal of 
Luckey Schools, Pittsburg j Thomas C. 
Blaisdell, a. M., Professor of English, 
Fifth Avenue Normal High School, 
Pittsburg ; and John Morrow, Superin- 
tendent of Schools, Allegheny, Pa. 

BOOK I . 245 pages . Price, 40 cents 

For Third, Fourth, and Fifth Years 

Daily Exercises ,in Language and 
Elementary Grammar 

BOOK II .352 pages . Price, 60 cents 

For Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Years 

A Simple, Brief, yet Complete Grammar 
A Practical Composition 



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